This is the second of two columns that list and describe easy-to-grow native plants for different types of sites. This week, I'll concentrate on shady sites — areas that get less than half a day of sun. For the previous column on plants for sunny sites, look for the Backyard Environmentalist at northjersey.com.

The delicate flowers of bloodroot appear in earliest spring.

Shady sites are not all alike. Some receive almost no sun, some receive a few hours of strong sun, some receive filtered sun all day long. And then there are soil and moisture factors: You may have well-drained, sandy soil or black wetland soil that never dries out. Obviously, very few plants will do well in every shady site. However, plants grow in all different types of sites in nature. So no matter what your site is like, there are native plants that will thrive there. For each plant I list, I indicate how much shade and how much moisture is preferable.

This list is organized by type of plant: ground cover, perennial, or shrub/small tree. All plants listed are native and all are readily available from mail-order nurseries that specialize in native plants. When buying plants, please pay particular attention to the species names, which all reputable growers include on plant labels. Too often we simply use the genus name, such as Pachysandra or Aster or Viburnum. However, a genus may include hundreds of different species that not only look quite different but also have different cultural needs. It's always best to identify plants by their binomial species names. For example, Pachysandra procumbens is the lovely variegated native Pachysandra.

Use this list is a starting place for planning a native perennial bed or shrub border. It includes only easy-to-grow plants. In addition to cultural requirements, I've indicated height and bloom time. There are many more beautiful, readily available native plants to choose from, but you can design a lovely, colorful garden with only these plants.

* Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) — 6 inches, pretty pink or white flower spikes in early spring, foliage lasts all season and turns color in fall. Needs a rich but not damp soil, does well in full shade.

Many spring-blooming native perennials are spring ephemerals — they emerge in early spring and flower, set seed, and go dormant by summer. I've indicated which ones go dormant; plant other perennials or a ground cover such as ferns with them for season-long interest.

* Shade-loving asters (Aster species such as A. cordifolia, A. divaricatus, A. macrophyllus, and A. lateriflorus) — most are about 18 inches tall with white or purple flowers August-October; there is a species for every soil type, so choose accordingly.

* Eupatorium, a large and varied genus. Shade lovers include mistflower (E. coelestinum), 18 inches, purple flowers in spring, moist soil; sweet joe pye weed (E. purpureum), 4 to 5 feet, purple flowers in late summer, dry soil; and the common white snakeroot that pops up everywhere and blooms along with the asters in fall.

* Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), 2 to 3 feet, spikes of blue flowers in late summer, dry to medium soil, partial to full shade

* Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), 6 inches, lovely white flowers in very early spring, followed by interesting-shaped leaves, goes dormant in summer; medium to moist soil, partial to full shade.

Please go to the northjersey.com website to read the first article in this series, which described shrubs and trees that need about half a day of sun — most would do well with half a day of shade! Remember, however, that the less sun, the less flowers and fruit the shrub will produce. The species listed here are true shade lovers.

* Summersweet clethra (C. alnifolia) — up to 12 feet, spikes of white flowers July-August; full shade, wet soil. This species grows abundantly in the woods at the back of the Thielke Arboretum.

* Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) — up to 30 feet. Our lovely native dogwood always grows as an understory tree in nature; it does much better and lives longer in shade than in sun. Large white flowers in May (see photo), dry to moist soil.

* Inkberry (Ilex glabra) — up to about 6 feet, forms a neat mound shape. This evergreen member of the holly family makes a great foundation plant. Inconspicuous flowers, black fruits in fall and winter. Full shade, moist soil.

* Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) — up to 12 feet. Small greenish flowers in very early spring, bright red berries in late summer that birds adore. Tolerates full shade, dry to moist soil.

* Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) — up to 20 feet. Lovely while flowers in late spring. May be deciduous or evergreen. Tolerates full shade, moist soil.

* Native azaleas and rhododendrons (various species, all in the rhododendron genus) — our native azaleas are all deciduous, have lovely, showy flowers in pinks, yellows, and orange, and prefer shade and moist soil. Our native rhododendrons are evergreen, have showy white or pink flowers, and also like the shade but prefer drier sites.

Elaine Silverstein is a horticulturist certified in Sustainable Landscape Management by the New York Botanical Garden. She blogs about gardening, nature, and the environment at naturesurrounds.wordpress.com. Contact her at naturesurrounds@gmail.com.

This is the second of two columns that list and describe easy-to-grow native plants for different types of sites. This week, I'll concentrate on shady sites — areas that get less than half a day of sun. For the previous column on plants for sunny sites, look for the Backyard Environmentalist at northjersey.com.

Shady sites are not all alike. Some receive almost no sun, some receive a few hours of strong sun, some receive filtered sun all day long. And then there are soil and moisture factors: You may have well-drained, sandy soil or black wetland soil that never dries out. Obviously, very few plants will do well in every shady site. However, plants grow in all different types of sites in nature. So no matter what your site is like, there are native plants that will thrive there. For each plant I list, I indicate how much shade and how much moisture is preferable.

This list is organized by type of plant: ground cover, perennial, or shrub/small tree. All plants listed are native and all are readily available from mail-order nurseries that specialize in native plants. When buying plants, please pay particular attention to the species names, which all reputable growers include on plant labels. Too often we simply use the genus name, such as Pachysandra or Aster or Viburnum. However, a genus may include hundreds of different species that not only look quite different but also have different cultural needs. It's always best to identify plants by their binomial species names. For example, Pachysandra procumbens is the lovely variegated native Pachysandra.

Use this list is a starting place for planning a native perennial bed or shrub border. It includes only easy-to-grow plants. In addition to cultural requirements, I've indicated height and bloom time. There are many more beautiful, readily available native plants to choose from, but you can design a lovely, colorful garden with only these plants.

* Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) — 6 inches, pretty pink or white flower spikes in early spring, foliage lasts all season and turns color in fall. Needs a rich but not damp soil, does well in full shade.

Many spring-blooming native perennials are spring ephemerals — they emerge in early spring and flower, set seed, and go dormant by summer. I've indicated which ones go dormant; plant other perennials or a ground cover such as ferns with them for season-long interest.

* Shade-loving asters (Aster species such as A. cordifolia, A. divaricatus, A. macrophyllus, and A. lateriflorus) — most are about 18 inches tall with white or purple flowers August-October; there is a species for every soil type, so choose accordingly.

* Eupatorium, a large and varied genus. Shade lovers include mistflower (E. coelestinum), 18 inches, purple flowers in spring, moist soil; sweet joe pye weed (E. purpureum), 4 to 5 feet, purple flowers in late summer, dry soil; and the common white snakeroot that pops up everywhere and blooms along with the asters in fall.

* Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), 2 to 3 feet, spikes of blue flowers in late summer, dry to medium soil, partial to full shade